Kansas State University Athletics
‘This is Something We’ll Learn and Grow From’
Aug 26, 2025 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Less than 20 hours after No. 17 Kansas State returned to Manhattan after a 24-21 loss to No. 22 Iowa State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, K-State head coach Chris Klieman at his weekly news conference offered rave reviews of the Wildcats' four-day stay in Dublin, Ireland.
"I'd do it all over again," Klieman said. "We'd like a different outcome, obviously, but it was such a cool experience."
The K-State/Iowa State matchup had been announced 486 days prior to Saturday evening's kickoff at Aviva Stadium. Although the listed capacity for a football game is 47,000, the crowd was announced at 47,221, as ardent K-State and Iowa State fans, along with several thousand Dublin locals, witnessed one of the longest standing series in college football history, which was decided by a single score for a 14th time since 2008 — the most single-score outcomes in the FBS over that span.
Klieman and his coaching staff largely spent their days in Emerald Isle preparing for the season opener for the 2025 season, but the seventh-year K-State head coach seemingly almost grew emotional in recalling his favorite part of the trip.
"I was blown away at the pep rally," Klieman said. "That was awesome. It reminded me at the Sugar Bowl looking at the sea of people. I don't know if we had 5,000 or 8,000 there, but that sea or purple was so cool, but even better was when we took those busses around town, and the 10,000 that weren't at the pep rally, we got to drive by them. For our players, it's something they'll never forget."
Then came the game. And the loss to the Cyclones.
"We are extremely disappointed in not coming away with a victory," Klieman said. "I knew this when we scheduled the game that K-State was going to paint Dublin purple and we did, and that's probably what makes me hurt the most, is for our fan base and the people who traveled there.
"They saw a really good football game between two really good teams."
K-State shifts its focus this week to its home opener against North Dakota on 6:00 p.m. at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"The biggest thing now is: How do we respond?" Klieman said. "And not for one week, but how do we respond for the long haul. This is still a marathon and not a sprint. This is something we'll learn and grow from."
It remains unclear exactly when junior running back Dylan Edwards, who apparently injured his left foot when he attempted to field a punt return early in the game, might return for the Wildcats.
"I know the X-ray came back negative, so that was a positive thing, but we won't know much, because we won't practice until Tuesday, so the treatments don't even start until this afternoon," Klieman said. "With us not practicing until tomorrow, we might have a little better idea on Wednesday."
Later, Klieman added, "I don't know how long Dylan is going to be out."
Klieman indicated that Edwards' absence impacted the game.
"Obviously, it was a big impact because we had so many designed plays for Dylan and getting him the ball in space," Klieman said. "So, the next guy has to step up and perform. I didn't expect Joe Jackson to play almost 55 plays. We were expecting him to play about 25-30 and Dylan maybe 35-40. We put a huge load on Joe, and I was proud of DeVon Rice. DeVon came in and made his mark. He's done that all fall camp, but he's just been the third guys. I was so pleased with DeVon Rice.
"Now somebody else has to step up. I don't know how long Dylan is going to be out. Somebody else has to step up. We're a little bit thin there."
Klieman said that he was pleased with quarterback Avery Johnson's ability to take care of the football when it was raining in the first half and his ability to unload the deep ball when conditions lifted in the second half. Klieman appeared eager for more from a passing game that seemed somewhat untapped despite the fact Johnson threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns.
"We hit the deep shot on them a couple times," Klieman said. "Coach Matt Wells made a great call on third-and-2 when we knew they were going to be aggressive, and Jayce Brown ran a great double move and Avery threw a touchdown. Then there was the long play late. For a while there, you could probably see it, that first quarter, we were backed up and it was raining really hard, and you couldn't get a great grip on the ball. It was harder to throw vertical in the first quarter.
"I'm confident and I've seen it that we can have a really good vertical passing game."
Johnson received time to throw because of a new-look offensive line that seemingly gelled over training camp.
"It was good in the circumstance and our protection was really good," Klieman said. "We need to get more movement in the run game. We fell off some blocks and double teams and maybe attribute that to the fact that it was a pretty good team we played against. I was pleased with JB Nelson and Terrence Enos Jr. getting their first playing time at K-State. I was really pleased with John Pastore, who hasn't played in a couple years, and he's going to continue to get better and better. We will play Gus Hawkins. It maybe didn't fit the game with how far we were backed up early in the game of wanting to put a redshirt freshman out there. Gus needs to play and will play for us this week."
Meanwhile, K-State debuted its 4-man defensive front, which the Wildcats plan to use during the 2025 season after utilizing a 3-man front over the past several years.
Klieman addressed what appears to be a significant development for a defense that has ranked among the best in the Big 12 in recent years.
"At the end of last year, not knowing what we had coming back at different spots, the one position we knew we had coming back was defensive line," Klieman said. "We felt it was where our most depth is and will be. We didn't like some of the explosive plays happening to us in the three-high stuff in the run game, so we worked three down and four down in camp, and guys felt more comfortable in four down. I like some of the things we did. It's fun to have Tobi Osunsanmi on the edge and you can get Ryan Davis on an edge and it's going to be some good stuff. It helped Chiddi Obiazor being a little bit more disruptive and allows us to play big with Uso Seumalo and Damian Ilalio. There'll be some times we'll practice some three-down stuff. But I think our guys really like this and are comfortable."
Klieman said that transfer safety Gunner Maldonado, who enjoyed only limited action in his first K-State game after recovering from injury that caused him to miss most of training camp, "is going to play Gunner football moving forward."
"Gunner would tell you he was maybe a little bit rusty," Klieman said. "He didn't take a ton of practice reps and that was a little bit of a factor in not playing as fast as I know Gunner will. He is a great player, and I'm glad we got him some snaps, but as he gets healthier, he's going to be a big factor for us."
As for sophomore safety Colby McCalister, who is working to get back after suffering an injury of his own?
"I don't believe Colby will be back until we get this first bye," said Klieman, as the Wildcats' first bye week is after a trip to Arizona on September 12.
It remains to be seen, but Klieman seemed to indicate that he might play among the most freshmen in his K-State tenure this fall.
That reason? Depth.
"In hindsight, I wish we would've played Holden Bass a little bit more," Klieman said. "But he got his feet wet in a big-time game and I was excited because it wasn't too big for him. Guys like that are going to be a factor. Logan Bartley, who played a little bit, is going to be a factor. There's DeVon Rice. There's Weston Polk, who played on special teams, Dominic Mitchell played on special teams. We played some freshmen, and I don't know if we anticipated playing as many of them as we did, but I know after leaving that game we're going to play a lot more of them, because our roster being so small, we have to play these guys because depth really hurts you with the roster cuts down to 105. So, these freshmen have to play."
However, on Monday, Klieman hoped that all of his players were enjoying restful slumber after their long journey.
"The vibe is dead right now because there isn't anybody in the building," Klieman said. "We kept them all away. They have to get some rest. That was a long travel day on Sunday. We're not seeing these guys around here. Tuesday we're having our normal lift day, but it's not a 6:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. lift on Tuesday. We'll get the lift in before noon on Tuesday. And we're not going to practice in full pads, we're going out in spiders and going through some things and getting our bodies acclimated on Tuesday. I'll figure out the vibe on Tuesday."
Meanwhile, time ticks toward the Wildcats' chance to rebound in a big-time way at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Less than 20 hours after No. 17 Kansas State returned to Manhattan after a 24-21 loss to No. 22 Iowa State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, K-State head coach Chris Klieman at his weekly news conference offered rave reviews of the Wildcats' four-day stay in Dublin, Ireland.
"I'd do it all over again," Klieman said. "We'd like a different outcome, obviously, but it was such a cool experience."
The K-State/Iowa State matchup had been announced 486 days prior to Saturday evening's kickoff at Aviva Stadium. Although the listed capacity for a football game is 47,000, the crowd was announced at 47,221, as ardent K-State and Iowa State fans, along with several thousand Dublin locals, witnessed one of the longest standing series in college football history, which was decided by a single score for a 14th time since 2008 — the most single-score outcomes in the FBS over that span.
Klieman and his coaching staff largely spent their days in Emerald Isle preparing for the season opener for the 2025 season, but the seventh-year K-State head coach seemingly almost grew emotional in recalling his favorite part of the trip.
"I was blown away at the pep rally," Klieman said. "That was awesome. It reminded me at the Sugar Bowl looking at the sea of people. I don't know if we had 5,000 or 8,000 there, but that sea or purple was so cool, but even better was when we took those busses around town, and the 10,000 that weren't at the pep rally, we got to drive by them. For our players, it's something they'll never forget."
Then came the game. And the loss to the Cyclones.
"We are extremely disappointed in not coming away with a victory," Klieman said. "I knew this when we scheduled the game that K-State was going to paint Dublin purple and we did, and that's probably what makes me hurt the most, is for our fan base and the people who traveled there.
"They saw a really good football game between two really good teams."
K-State shifts its focus this week to its home opener against North Dakota on 6:00 p.m. at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"The biggest thing now is: How do we respond?" Klieman said. "And not for one week, but how do we respond for the long haul. This is still a marathon and not a sprint. This is something we'll learn and grow from."
It remains unclear exactly when junior running back Dylan Edwards, who apparently injured his left foot when he attempted to field a punt return early in the game, might return for the Wildcats.
"I know the X-ray came back negative, so that was a positive thing, but we won't know much, because we won't practice until Tuesday, so the treatments don't even start until this afternoon," Klieman said. "With us not practicing until tomorrow, we might have a little better idea on Wednesday."
Later, Klieman added, "I don't know how long Dylan is going to be out."
Klieman indicated that Edwards' absence impacted the game.
"Obviously, it was a big impact because we had so many designed plays for Dylan and getting him the ball in space," Klieman said. "So, the next guy has to step up and perform. I didn't expect Joe Jackson to play almost 55 plays. We were expecting him to play about 25-30 and Dylan maybe 35-40. We put a huge load on Joe, and I was proud of DeVon Rice. DeVon came in and made his mark. He's done that all fall camp, but he's just been the third guys. I was so pleased with DeVon Rice.
"Now somebody else has to step up. I don't know how long Dylan is going to be out. Somebody else has to step up. We're a little bit thin there."
Klieman said that he was pleased with quarterback Avery Johnson's ability to take care of the football when it was raining in the first half and his ability to unload the deep ball when conditions lifted in the second half. Klieman appeared eager for more from a passing game that seemed somewhat untapped despite the fact Johnson threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns.
"We hit the deep shot on them a couple times," Klieman said. "Coach Matt Wells made a great call on third-and-2 when we knew they were going to be aggressive, and Jayce Brown ran a great double move and Avery threw a touchdown. Then there was the long play late. For a while there, you could probably see it, that first quarter, we were backed up and it was raining really hard, and you couldn't get a great grip on the ball. It was harder to throw vertical in the first quarter.
"I'm confident and I've seen it that we can have a really good vertical passing game."
Johnson received time to throw because of a new-look offensive line that seemingly gelled over training camp.
"It was good in the circumstance and our protection was really good," Klieman said. "We need to get more movement in the run game. We fell off some blocks and double teams and maybe attribute that to the fact that it was a pretty good team we played against. I was pleased with JB Nelson and Terrence Enos Jr. getting their first playing time at K-State. I was really pleased with John Pastore, who hasn't played in a couple years, and he's going to continue to get better and better. We will play Gus Hawkins. It maybe didn't fit the game with how far we were backed up early in the game of wanting to put a redshirt freshman out there. Gus needs to play and will play for us this week."
Meanwhile, K-State debuted its 4-man defensive front, which the Wildcats plan to use during the 2025 season after utilizing a 3-man front over the past several years.
Klieman addressed what appears to be a significant development for a defense that has ranked among the best in the Big 12 in recent years.
"At the end of last year, not knowing what we had coming back at different spots, the one position we knew we had coming back was defensive line," Klieman said. "We felt it was where our most depth is and will be. We didn't like some of the explosive plays happening to us in the three-high stuff in the run game, so we worked three down and four down in camp, and guys felt more comfortable in four down. I like some of the things we did. It's fun to have Tobi Osunsanmi on the edge and you can get Ryan Davis on an edge and it's going to be some good stuff. It helped Chiddi Obiazor being a little bit more disruptive and allows us to play big with Uso Seumalo and Damian Ilalio. There'll be some times we'll practice some three-down stuff. But I think our guys really like this and are comfortable."
Klieman said that transfer safety Gunner Maldonado, who enjoyed only limited action in his first K-State game after recovering from injury that caused him to miss most of training camp, "is going to play Gunner football moving forward."
"Gunner would tell you he was maybe a little bit rusty," Klieman said. "He didn't take a ton of practice reps and that was a little bit of a factor in not playing as fast as I know Gunner will. He is a great player, and I'm glad we got him some snaps, but as he gets healthier, he's going to be a big factor for us."
As for sophomore safety Colby McCalister, who is working to get back after suffering an injury of his own?
"I don't believe Colby will be back until we get this first bye," said Klieman, as the Wildcats' first bye week is after a trip to Arizona on September 12.
It remains to be seen, but Klieman seemed to indicate that he might play among the most freshmen in his K-State tenure this fall.
That reason? Depth.
"In hindsight, I wish we would've played Holden Bass a little bit more," Klieman said. "But he got his feet wet in a big-time game and I was excited because it wasn't too big for him. Guys like that are going to be a factor. Logan Bartley, who played a little bit, is going to be a factor. There's DeVon Rice. There's Weston Polk, who played on special teams, Dominic Mitchell played on special teams. We played some freshmen, and I don't know if we anticipated playing as many of them as we did, but I know after leaving that game we're going to play a lot more of them, because our roster being so small, we have to play these guys because depth really hurts you with the roster cuts down to 105. So, these freshmen have to play."
However, on Monday, Klieman hoped that all of his players were enjoying restful slumber after their long journey.
"The vibe is dead right now because there isn't anybody in the building," Klieman said. "We kept them all away. They have to get some rest. That was a long travel day on Sunday. We're not seeing these guys around here. Tuesday we're having our normal lift day, but it's not a 6:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. lift on Tuesday. We'll get the lift in before noon on Tuesday. And we're not going to practice in full pads, we're going out in spiders and going through some things and getting our bodies acclimated on Tuesday. I'll figure out the vibe on Tuesday."
Meanwhile, time ticks toward the Wildcats' chance to rebound in a big-time way at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
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